The nav element represents
a section of a page that links to other pages or to parts within
the page: a section with navigation links.

Not all groups of links on a page need to be in a
nav element — the element is primarily intended
for sections that consist of major navigation blocks. In
particular, it is common for footers to have a short list of links
to various pages of a site, such as the terms of service, the home
page, and a copyright page. The footer element alone is sufficient for
such cases; while a nav element can be used in such cases, it is
usually unnecessary.

User agents (such as screen readers) that are
targeted at users who can benefit from navigation information being
omitted in the initial rendering, or who can benefit from
navigation information being immediately available, can use this
element as a way to determine what content on the page to initially
skip and/or provide on request.

In the following example, the page has several places where
links are present, but only one of those places is considered a
navigation section.

A nav element doesn't have to contain a list, it
can contain other kinds of content as well. In this navigation
block, links are provided in prose:

<nav>
<h1>Navigation</h1>
<p>You are on my home page. To the north lies <a href="/blog">my
blog</a>, from whence the sounds of battle can be heard. To the east
you can see a large mountain, upon which many <a
href="/school">school papers</a> are littered. Far up thus mountain
you can spy a little figure who appears to be me, desperately
scribbling a <a href="/school/thesis">thesis</a>.</p>
<p>To the west are several exits. One fun-looking exit is labeled <a
href="http://games.example.com/">"games"</a>. Another more
boring-looking exit is labeled <a
href="http://isp.example.net/">ISP™</a>.</p>
<p>To the south lies a dark and dank <a href="/about">contacts
page</a>. Cobwebs cover its disused entrance, and at one point you
see a rat run quickly out of the page.</p>
</nav>